Assisted dying: Government refers case to Constitutional Council after final vote

Paris – July 15, 2026: The French National Assembly is expected to hold a final vote on Wednesday on a bill concerning the right to assisted dying. Immediately afterwards, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu plans to refer the matter to the Constitutional Council. The move is intended to review the constitutionality of the reform, which would permit medically assisted suicide or the administration of lethal substances under strict conditions.

Olivier Falorni, the member of parliament who introduced the bill, told Franceinfo that he is not concerned the Constitutional Council will challenge it. The process was lengthy and extensively debated in parliament, he said. The government, by contrast, cites the uneven nature of deliberations in the two chambers as grounds for the referral. While the National Assembly debated the bill extensively, the Senate was unable to conduct a comparable in-depth review of the final version.

Specifically, the Constitutional Council will examine several safeguards. First, Matignon mentioned a minimum two-day period during which the patient must reaffirm their wish after the physician’s decision. Second, the issue is how legal protection for adults under guardianship and their free, fully informed consent will be ensured. Third, the review will include a conscience clause for healthcare professionals and institutions that do not wish, in principle, to provide assisted dying.

Under the current bill, only adults suffering from a serious, incurable illness, whose life expectancy is threatened in an advanced or terminal stage, and whose suffering cannot be effectively alleviated would be eligible. Psychological suffering alone does not establish entitlement. The attending physician must decide on the application within 15 days, after which a minimum two-day reflection period begins.

The legislative process has clearly revealed institutional divisions. Members of parliament passed the bill in a second reading on June 30, 2026, with 295 votes in favor and 232 against. It had previously been approved with 305 votes in favor and 199 against in May 2025, and with 299 votes in favor and 226 against in February 2026. However, in the Senate, where conservatives and centrists hold a majority, the bill was rejected on all three occasions.

On July 7, 2026, the Senate adopted a motion by 169 votes to 164 to exclude further substantive examination. This gave the National Assembly the final say after the joint committee failed on May 19. The constitution permits this for bills when no agreement is reached between the two chambers.

The referral to the Constitutional Council does not postpone political responsibility, but it adds a constitutional oversight mechanism to the reform. The central question is not the political appropriateness of the law. The review concerns whether the legislature has harmoniously combined individual freedom, human dignity, the protection of vulnerable people, and the freedom of conscience of healthcare professionals within the constitutional order.